Appeared in the Toronto Star on October 9, 2011 as Why Are Consumers Missing from CRTC’s Online Video Ruling? Earlier this year, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission launched a consultation into the policy implications of increasingly popular Internet-based video services such as Netflix. The consultation was the CRTC’s response […]
Post Tagged with: "crtc"
CRTC Releases Online Video Report
The CRTC released its fact-finding report on over-the-top video yesterday. I’ll have more to say on the report in my column next week, but in the meantime the money quote is: the evidence does not demonstrate that the presence of OTT providers in Canada and greater consumption of OTT content […]
CRTC Updates Internet Traffic Management Practices Guidelines
After more than 30 investigations in nearly two years, it is clear improvements are needed. At a minimum, the CRTC should be publishing all public complaints and resolutions so that the issues obtain a public airing. Moreover, the system needs penalties for violations as well as pro-active audits to ensure Internet providers are compliant with their obligations. Without change, the CRTC’s net neutrality rules offer little protection for Canadian Internet users.
Yesterday the CRTC took a first step in this direction by releasing new guidelines for responding to complaints and enforcing the rules. The best aspect of the ruling is a commitment to publish quarterly reports featuring a summary of the number and types of complaints it has received, including the number of active and resolved complaints. Moreover, any findings of non-compliance will be published on the Commission’s website and will include the ISP’s name and the nature of the complaint. The move toward greater transparency is welcome and an important step in pressuring ISPs to comply with the guidelines. The new guidelines also establish a strict timeline for responses by complainants and ISPs, which should help avoid Xplorenet-type situations that dragged on for months before the ISP addressed complaints over its traffic management practices.
The CRTC’s Vertical Integration Decision: A Step in the Right Direction
I guess I come from the position that we, the Commission, have already recognized there is a need to create competition, more competition in order to protect Canadians, and facilities-based competition is not yet here. So it’s our job to find a vehicle to create that competition and, in the simplest terms, it is to create an environment where broadband would be made available to a third party through a lease arrangement.
The acknowledgement about the state of Canadian competition and the responsibility of the regulator to address the issue was long overdue. While the UBB decision is still forthcoming, Katz’s comments provide some reason for optimism. Yesterday’s CRTC vertical integration decision contained a similar statement that offered a strong indication that the Commission got the concerns associated with vertically integrated media companies that can use their market power in a manner that harms consumer choice :
Ellis on Rogers Game Throttling
David Ellis has a must-read post on Rogers game throttling and the lack of action by the CRTC. The post comes as the CRTC prepares to issue updated guidelines on net neutrality complaints.
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